The Meaning of Love
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Victoire and Teddy are having problems, and Victoire is finally getting to the bottom of it.


**Title:** The Meaning of Love  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Teddy/Victoire  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 1,360  
 **Summary:** Victoire and Teddy are having problems, and Victoire is finally getting to the bottom of it.

 **Notes:** Gift Fic for Raven of the Shadows

 **The Great 2016 Cotillion Challenge**

 **The Ultimate Patronus Quest Challenge:** Special Class H: Magical & Mystica Creatures – Dragon – Use a quote (which I will give you) as an inspiration (Tell me when you want to write for that)

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: **Muggle Music - Task 2 - Write about someone having marital problems. **Prompts:** (phrase) Love will tear us apart / (word) Respect / (word) Desperation

* * *

 _"Love. The reason I dislike that word is that it means too much for me, far more than you can understand." - Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina_

* * *

"Teddy, talk to me," Victoire pled. She was scared. She never thought they'd have so many problems once they got married. When they dated, they rarely fought. It wasn't until after they said their vows and had been married for six months that the arguments started.

And now she feared she'd lose Teddy for good if they couldn't fix their relationship. In order to fix their relationship, though, Teddy needed to _talk_ to her. And that was something he seemed to not be interested in doing.

"What is there to talk about?"

Victoire rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Let's see. Maybe we can talk about why you're so unhappy with us?" Quieter, she asked the question she feared the answer to the most, but she had to know. "Do you not love me anymore?"

Teddy looked at her, and there was desperation in his eyes.

Victoire continued when she saw she finally had his undivided attention. "If you don't love me anymore, please have enough respect to at least be honest about it. Don't hide behind petty fights that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"Victoire, I love you. I promise you I love you."

"Then what's going on?"

Teddy sighed. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'love will tear us apart'?"

"Yes, of course, but I don't actually believe it. I have more faith in the phrase 'love will keep us together.'"

Teddy smiled sadly. "I guess I'm more pessimistic than you. I love you, I do, but I hate the word 'love.' I hate everything the word means because it means too much for me. I think it means more for me than you can possibly understand."

Victoire took a step towards him. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "Help me understand. What does love mean for you?"

Teddy sat down on the couch. "It's hard to put it in words."

Victoire sat next to him, but she was careful to not crowd him. She knew how claustrophobic he sometimes got, and if he felt trapped, he'd shut down, and they'd be back to where they started with no progress made. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

Teddy met her gaze briefly before he looked straight ahead.

She knew he was gathering his thoughts, so she didn't take offense. "Okay, when I think of the world love, I think of two or more people that would do anything for each other. I know there's different kind of love of course, but at the core of it, in my mind, the people who feel that emotion will always do what they can for the person they love. I know Harry will do anything for James, Albus, Lily and me, and that's a familial love. I also know Grandma Molly and grandpa Arthur will do anything for each other, and that's a romantic love."

"Okay," Victoire acknowledge, but she didn't say any more. Teddy wasn't finished, yet.

"I also think that people who love each other, _truly_ love each other, will never part company. Until they die, they will always love each other, and they will always be with each other. And when they do die, I believe that their souls will be reincarnated. And their souls will _still_ love each other and will seek each other out. And then they'll be together _again_ until they die. And the cycle repeats itself for eternity."

Victoire blinked. They never talked about reincarnation or the afterlife before, and Victoire wasn't sure why it never came up in discussion, but at least she now knew Teddy's thoughts on it. "What else does love mean for you?"

Teddy finally looked at her. "Love means you're never lonely. You have someone you can depend on. That person will never betray you or let you down. You or that person might make mistakes, but they're mistakes that can be forgiven, and the two people can move on from them. I believe you'll always have someone you can turn to, and you'll never be judged by the person for being who you are. Love is the purest emotion, and it can't be tainted but ugly emotions like hate."

Victoire smiled. "That was beautiful, Teddy, but why are you pulling away from me? Do you not believe we love each other?"

Teddy looked down at his hands. "I mentioned that Harry would do anything for his kids, but I didn't mention him doing anything for Ginny, or vice versa."

She tilted her head. She hadn't realized it, but he was right. Instead of using Harry and Ginny, he used Arthur and Molly. "Why not?"

"Harry and Ginny are getting a divorce. He told me a couple of months ago."

Victoire thought about it. The rest of the family obviously didn't know about it because if they did, she was sure all of the kids would know about it as well. A couple of months ago was when Teddy started picking fights with her.

The idea of Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny getting divorced was awful of course, but that didn't really have anything to do with the two of them. She thought about it some more. Or did it have to do with the two of them?

Harry was Teddy's hero, and to Teddy, he always thought Harry and Ginny had the perfect relationship, and if they were getting divorced, was there any such thing as the perfect relationship?

Victoire could practically read what Teddy must have been thinking when Harry told him. And now, everything made sense.

She shook her head, stood up, and sat on Teddy's lap, no longer worried about him feeling crowded. "Teddy, what's happening with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny is bad, but we're not them. Just because their marriage didn't survive, doesn't mean ours is going to fail as well."

"They loved each other, though. Or, at least I thought they did. How do you just stop loving someone? It doesn't make sense."

"Unfortunately, things don't always make sense. Hearts can sometimes change. And let's not forget something. They got married right after the end of the war. Maybe they should have dated a while longer to make sure they wanted to get married. Maybe they just rushed into marriage too quickly because of the fear from the final battle. I'm not sure, but you can't look at their marriage and decide that if they couldn't make it, we won't be able to as well. We're different people than they are. We deal with our problems in a different way. You have to have faith in _us_ , and stop comparing us to another couple. That's practically self-sabotage."

"I'm scared. I don't want to lose you," Teddy quietly admitted as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His fingers bunched up her favorite sky blue sweater, but she didn't yell at him for wrinkling it like she normally would have.

"You won't. I love you. And everything you said about love—about no judgment, never being alone, always having someone you can depend on—I completely agree with it. We aren't Harry and Ginny. We'll make our own of mistakes, I'm sure, but we're not going to walk away from each other."

Teddy looked into her eyes.

She still saw fear in his gaze, but there was also some hope mixed in. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you through the last couple of months."

She cupped his cheek. "I forgive you. Next time, though, why don't you just try telling me when something is bothering you? It might be easier."

Teddy turned his head and kissed her palm that was against his cheek. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

There were still shadows in his eyes, and she wasn't sure how much he actually believed her words when she said she wouldn't walk away, but at least he was no longer shutting her out

That was something.

And with time, he would believe she was there for eternity. Their souls were intertwined. She was sure of it. And she believed their souls would keep finding each other, even after they died. Their love was just that strong.


End file.
